DJ&A – Smoked Chili & Garlic Potato Wedges
I always get giddy and excited when I find new snacks in my regular life and routine. Sometimes finding something new and interesting in a random store that’s always been there fills me with hope and optimism. Not necessarily because of the snack itself, but what it represents. Pleasant surprises hiding in plain sight, as it were.
These are brand in Australia of all places, and what caught my eye was potato wedges. It’s not often I think of potato wedges outside of the context of something fried or adjacent to some fried chicken. I’m trying to imagine what a potato wedge would taste like if it was in the form of a packaged snack like a potato chip. The curiosity is killing me.
These are quite seasoned, by which I mean borderline dusty. I feel like if I drop this I’ll be left with a pile of seasoning to vacuum up. I hope you aren’t eating this near fancy furniture or carpet, because the risk just ain’t worth it.
The first thing that strikes me is how visually these look just like lightly fried potato wedges. With a lot of seasoning on them. They don’t smell as strong as actual potato wedges obviously, because these don’t use that much oil and are slow cooked. They appear more dry, like a potato chip rather than the glistening, greasy look of actual fries.
The texture while not foreign to me, was a bit surprising because my brain is trying to reconcile the expectations based on visuals versus the actual experience. The best way I can think of describing these, is if you took a potato and lightly fried it, then set it out to dry. That or freeze drying a potato wedge. It has a slightly crispy, crunchy texture, and the centre is not hollow, but airy and has a starchy texture to it, which is what I love about potato wedges in general. These are obviously dry so it doesn’t have that same soft texture, but you can sort of get that quality from it. They are also not greasy at all, but also not dry. These remind me a lot of those potato sticks that Calbee is known for, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these are made with a similar process. Overall these are quite addictive.
The flavour is a very familiar one that reminds me of some less sweet and more savoury barbeque flavours. The garlic is quite strong and tasty, and the chili is definitely there but at no point does it feel too spicy to handle. The two come together to really compliment the potato flavour of the wedges. The one thing I really appreciate about this snack is how the potato flavour is really present and not overshadowed by anything. I could argue that the seasoning is a bit heavy, but even with it the potato shines on through, which is rare.
Unfortunately these are not easy to get a hold of anymore where I am, but if you happen to be outside of the frigid North, or know a specialty store that sells these, give them a try. You may be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
